Apparatus for continuously modifying the temperature of wire and the like



July 16, 1963 Filed Sept. 13. 1960 M. A. NYE ET AL 3,098,109 APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY MODIFYING THE TEMPERATURE OF WIRE AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 PRESSURE REGULATOR INVENTORS MAURICE A. NYE 8 JESS C. BITTMAN FIG. I

BY 0% m@wwzg ATTORNEYS July 16, 1963 M. A. NYE ET AL ,1

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUQUSLY MODIFYING THE TEMPERATURE OF WIRE AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 13, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS MAURICE A. NYE a 1 TTM N BY JESS C Bl A ATTORNEYS July 16, 1963 M. A. NYE ET AL APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY MODIFYING THE TEMPERATURE OF WIRE AND THE LIKE 3 She gts-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 15. 1960 FIG. 3

HEAT QUENCH CLEAN mu COAT DRY DRAW INVENTORS FIG 4 MAURICE A. NYE a BY JESS G. BITTMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY MODIFYING THE TEMPERATURE OF WmE AND THE LIKE Maurice A. Nye and Jess C. Bittman, Cuyahoga Falls,

Ohio, assignors to The Vaughn Machinery Company,

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 13, 1950, Ser. No. 55,651 2 Claims. (Cl. 266-3) The present invention relates generally as indicated to a method of and apparatus for continuously modifying the temperature of wire and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to the patenting of steel wire having a carbon content of 2.5% and higher so as to develop therein a sorbitic structure, which, as known, combines high tensile strength with high ductility and imparts to the wire the ability to withstand hard drafting. Moreover, in the case of process wire, patenting also removes the effect of previous cold drawing.

As known in the art, patenting of wire is usually conducted as a continuous process and comprises first heating the wire to a point considerably above the critical temperature, then cooling through the critical temperature at a comparatively rapid rate. In practice, there are known three ways of administering the patenting treatment. One way is to heat the wire while conducted through a tube furnace and then to cool the heated wire by pulling it from the furnace into the open air, this method being referred to as Old Process Patenting. A second method comprises heating the wire in a tube furnace, as before, and cooling it by drawing it into a bath of relatively cold lead, this process being known as the Metallic Hardening Process. A third method is to heat the wire in a bath of very hot lead and to cool it in another lead bath at a lower temperature, this being known as the Double Lead Process. In the wire drawing field it is not at all unusual to draw, package, or otherwise process and handle wire at lineal speeds exceeding, for example, four thousand feet per minute.

In known patenting methods the wire is fed through the heating means at a relatively low lineal speed (40 ft./min., for example) so that it will be uniformly heated to the desired temperature. Accordingly, if the patenting equipment is to keep up with the drawing machine, it is necessary to run a large number of wires from corresponding supply reels or coils through the patenting equipment and to coil the wires for subsequent drawing or other processing at a rate of, say, 660 ft./min. Aside from providing numerous supply coils and spoolers in association with each patenting unit, the wires being patented will be distributed in different portions of the heating means and quenching baths, whereby considerable dificulty is encountered in attempting to uniformly heat and quench all of the wires to the same temperature.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a novel patenting method and a novel apparatus which is characterized in compactness and simplicity, but which yet is capable of effectively performing the patenting process while the wire is traveling at high speeds.

It is another object of this invention to provide a continuous wire patenting process and apparatus which entails the passing of successive helical loops of the wire into the heating and quenching means.

It is another object of this invention to provide a wire patenting process and apparatus by which and with which the heating and quenching of the wire to precise desired temperatures is achieved at high lineal speeds of the wire by reason of there being a very long length of the wire in the form of helical loops exposed to the heating and quenching media.

It is another object of this invention to provide a wire patenting process and apparatus in which the wire, in heated condition above its critical temperature, is cooled by advancing helical loops thereof continuously into a lead bath.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wire patenting process and apparatus in which both the heating and cooling of the wire in succession is effected by passing helical loops of the wire continuously through a heating furnace in contact around a rotary drum in said furnace and thence passing the heated wire helically through a lead cooling bath, the wire being in contact around a rotary drum immersed in the lead bath.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a wire patenting process and apparatus by which and with which the wire may be completely processed at high speed ready for drawing at corresponding high speed, thereby eliminating the need for accumulating or coiling the patented wire prior to drawing it. Thus, the present process and apparatus envisages the following successive operations performed with similar pieces of apparatus arranged in a line, or in a loop:

(a) A heating furnace in which the wire is heated to 1750 F. for example;

(b) A quenching unit in which the heated wire is quenched to a temperature of 900 to 1100 F. for example;

(c) A cleaning unit in which the quenched wire is cleaned in an acid bath or the like, the acid preferably being continuously cooled to extract heat from the quenched wire;

(0!) A rinsing unit which may comprise a water tank through which the wire is passed in helically looped form;

(e) A coating unit in which the helical loops of wire are coated with lime, borax or like drawing compound; and

(f) A drying unit in which the coated, patented wire is subjected to hot air currents effective to dry the coating thereon.

All of the foregoing operations are performed at relatively high speed so that as the patented, cleaned, rinsed, coated, and dried wire is taken out of the drying unit, it may be fed directly to the wire draw-ing machine without any intervening coiling operation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-section view through one form of heating furnace according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view, partly in section, of a quenching unit which is effective to quench the heated wire (pulled as from the furnace of FIG. 1) through the critical temperature and at a comparatively rapid rate so as to produce the required sorbitic structure.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section view of another form of heating furnace in which the wire Wrapped around the rotary drum in the furnace is exposed to the heating gas emitted by surrounding gas burners or the like; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an arrange ment of several units similar to those illustrated in FIGS.

1 to 3 for complete processing of wire continuously and at a rapid rate.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in FIG. 1 is shown the heating furnace 1 through which wire W from a suitable source is adapted to be pulled continuously in highly heated condition. In the patenting of steel wire having a carbon content of .25 and higher, such heating will be carried out to a temperature above the critical temperature. The furnace 1 comprises a base structure 2 having a central vertically disposed drive shaft 3 journalled as in suitable bearings (not shown) in the shaft support 4 and driven as by the electric drive motor 5 through a suitable gear box 6. Keyed onto the upper end of said drive shaft 3 is the head 7 of a hollow rotary drum 8, the skirt or posts 9 of which is secured as by screws 10 to the head 7 in downwardly depending relation. The head 7 may be covered with refractory material 11, as shown, to contain the intense heat therebelow and within the drum or skirt 9. Mounted on the base structure 2 beneath the drum head 7 and within the cylindrical skirt portion 9 of the drum 8 are circularly arranged series of heating elements 12 to which a combustible gas and air mixture is supplied as from the manifold 14 and supply pipes 15. The gas burners 12 are thus directed radially outwardly against the inside of the cylindrical portion 9 of the drum 8 to heat the same to the desired temperature as the drum 8 is rotated about said burners 12.

Flue gas from within the drum 8 is exhausted as through radial openings 16 leading to an exhaust manifold 17 which, in turn, is connected with an exhaust fan, not shown.

The lower portion of the skirt 9 is formed with a circular groove 18 which may be filled with insulating material 19 to keep the intense heat of said skirt 9 away from the lower part 20 of the drum, these parts 20 and 9 being secured together by suitable bolts or the like.

In order to relieve the shaft 3 from supporting the entire weight of the drum 8, the aforesaid lower part 20 is formed with a peripheral flange 21 resting on a series of radially disposed rollers 22 journalled on a base ring 23 which is secured on the base structure 2.

Keyed to the lower part 20 for rotation therewith is the pushup ring 24 which is supported on radial rollers 25 whose axes lie in a plane which is inclined from horizontal and thus non-parallel to the normal plane on which the axes of the other drum supporting rollers 22 are mounted.

The pushup ring 24 has an upper wear resisting ring 26 and it can be seen that when wire W is brought into the furnace 1 along a line which is tangent to the drum above the lowermost roller 25 and is helically Wrapped about the drum 8, the rotation of the drum 8 together with the lower part 20 thereof and also the pushup ring 24, the helical loops of the wire W will be pushed up while in contact with the heated skirt 9. The top coil of wire W is pulled out of the furnace 1 along a line tangent to the drum 8 and through a slot 27 formed in the refractory hood 28 which is disposed around the drum 8. The furnace hood 28 is provided, on opposite sides thereof, with vertical guides 29 slidably engaged with ribs 30 on the upstanding posts 31. Opposite sides of the hood 28 also have connected thereto the chains 32 which are trained over sprockets 34 mounted on cross shaft 35, the latter being journalled in bearings 36 at the upper ends of the posts 31. The other ends of the chains 32 have counterweights 37 secured thereto which are of approximate total weight equal to the weight of the hood 28. The shaft may turn the sprockets 34 to raise and lower the hood 28 as by means of a suitable reversible electric motor 38. As aforesaid, the hood 28 is formed with a tangential slot 27 through which the wire W is adapted to be continuously pulled.

The lower part 20 of the drum 8 is water-cooled as from a circular tube-39 which has a series of angularly disposed discharge apertures 40 for directing jets or sprays of water against the part 20 as shown whereat the wire W is initially wrapped around the drum 8 when introduced into the furnace 1. In addition, there is maintained a continuous air flow over the pushup ring 24 and said lower part 20 as by an exhaust fan (not shown) connected to the ring manifold 41 which is mounted on the posts 42 of the base structure. The manifold 41 has a series of openings 43 to cause such sweeping of air over the pushup ring 24.

It can be seen from FIG. 1 that by making the drum 8 of say, 9" diameter, it will rotate at about 42.5 rpm. in order to handle wire traveling at the rate of 1200 per minute and, of course, each wrap or coil of wire W around the heated portion 9 of the drum 8 is about 30' long, whereby with say, forty wraps there would be about 1200' of wire in the furnace 1 at all times. At the rate of travel aforesaid, Le. 1200' per minute, the wire W will :be in the furnace 1 for one minute and in direct heat exchange relation with the skirt 9 of the drum 8 for uniform, accurate heating of the wire W.

The heated wire W as shown in dash lines in FIG. 1 may be withdrawn from the furnace over the sheave and through the central opening 45 in the hood 28. If desired, another opening may be provided in the hood 28 to maintain a continuous flow of inert gas across the head 7 of the drum 8 and thence along the heated side through the apertures 43 into the manifold 41.

Another feature of this invention is that, if desired, an inert gas may be introduced through the top central opening 45 of the hood 28 and by reason of the annular exhaust manifold 41 there will be maintained a continuous flow of such inert gas across the head 7 of the drum and thence along the heated side through the apertures 43 into the manifold 41. The cooling air sweeping across the pushup ring 24 and up along the upper portion of the part 20 is drawn into manifold 41 whereby the heated wire W will not be exposed to air. It is to be noted that the pushup ring 24 is laterally guided by rollers 46 mounted 0n the base ring 23.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the apparatus 58 is a cooling unit which comprises a tank 51 for oil, salt, lead or equivalent quenching medium, which initially is adapted to be heated by heating medium circulated through passages 55 to maintain the quench bath at desired temperature and to melt the quenching medium if solid as salt or lead, but which, after the patenting operation has been started, is adapted to be cooled to prevent the quenching bath from reaching a higher than desired quenching temperature due to heat extracted from the wire W.

Immersed in the lead or other bath 51 is a rotary drum 52 much of the same type disclosed in FIG. 1, except inverted, and thus the drive shaft 53 is at the top and the drum 52 is hung as from the rollers 54 in the base structure or drum support assembly 56 which is vertically movable along the posts 57. Also, as the drum 52 rotates a pushdown ring 58 supported on the inclined series of rollers 59 and laterally guided by rollers 60 is operative to actuate the pushdown ring 58 which continuously pashes the coils of wire W down along the lower portion 61 of the drum. The pushdown ring 58 has a lower wearresisting ring 6 9 along which the wire is introduced. This is necessary in the case of a lead bath because the specific gravity of the molten lead in tank 51 is much greater than that of the steel wire being processed. The cooled wire W is taken off the lower portion 61 of the drum 52 and passes under a fixed guide shoe 62 from the quenching drum 52 (rather than hood 28 in FIG. 1) may be raised out of the quenching bath or immersed therein, whereby stringing up of the drum 52 is facilitated while it is in raised position. In FIG. 2 the chains 65 are secured at one end to the drum support assembly 56 and the other end may have counterweights 37 secured thereto as in FIG. 1.

The heating furnace shown in FIG. 3 is generally similar to that shown in FIG. 1 in that there is provided a rotary drum assembly 8% about which the wire W is adapted to be wrapped and the drum is provided with a pushup ring 81 to continuously shove the convolutions of the wire wrapped around the drum upwardly into the hood 82 as explained in connection with FIG. 1. The upper portion of the drum 80* may comprise separate fingers 83 as shown. The heated wire W may be taken out through the central opening 84 in the hood 82 and, if so, the automatic damper 85 will be omitted, or if desired and as shown, the heated wire W may be taken out through a doorway 86 in the side of the hood 82. In this case, the gas burners 87 are circularly arranged around the upper portion of the drum 80* so as to discharge the heated gas directly against the wire W and, of course, if necessary, one or more internal gas burners (not shown) may be provided as in FIG. 1, to heat the wire W and fingers 83. As in FIG. 1, the FIG. 3 construction is provided with cooling means, herein a water-cooling chamher 89 within the lower portion of the drum 80 to maintain that portion in cooled condition so that it is not necessary to employ a heat-resisting alloy such as is used for the fingers 83.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen therefrom that a plurality of units 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, and 95 similar to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 herein may be used to completely process wire W for coiling or drawing. Thus, the wire W to be patented and drawn (or coiled) will be continuously moved through the heating furnace 90 which may be of the type as disclosed in FIGS. 1 or 3, for example. The heated wire at 17 50 F. for example, is continuously removed from the furnace 90 and passes through the quenching unit 91 which, in the case of a lead quench, would be of the type shown in FIG. 2 operative to quench the heated wire to 900 to 1100 F. The quenched wire is then continuously removed from the quenching unit 91 into a cleaning unit 92 which again may comprise a rotary drum about which the wire W is helically coiled and immersed into acid or like cleaning agent. It is contemplated to continuously cool the acid bath to extract heat from the wire and, obviously, instead of cooling the acid, it may be desired to employ a wire cooling unit between the quenching unit 91 and the cleaning unit 92. In either event, the cleaned wire W is continuously removed from the cleaning unit 92 and then passes into a water rinsing unit 93 which again may comprise a rotary drum about which the wire W is helically coiled and immersed in the rinse water or other rinsing agent. Following the rinsing operation in unit 93, the wire W is continuously fed into the coating unit 94, which, again, may comprise a rotary drum about which the wire is helically wrapped for immersion in the lime, borax or like drawing compound. Finally, the coated wire W is continuously removed from the coating unit 94- and is fed into the drying unit 95 which, likewise, may comprise a rotary drum ('like unit 90, for example) about which the wire is helically coiled and subjected to hot gas currents to effect drying of the lime or borax coating thereon. From the drying unit the patented, cleaned,

rinsed, coated, and dried wire may be fed continuously and directly into a wire drawing machine 96 and there subjected to the required number of drafts, whereupon the wire may then be coiled or subjected to yet other conventional operations that may follow the drawing operation. Instead of the drawing machine 96 the final operation may be coiling whereby the coil is transported to a drawing machine elsewhere. It can thus be seen that with the present process and apparatus a single wire W may be continuously patented and otherwise prepared for drawing operation at a very high lineal speed corresponding to the desired lineal speed of the spooling or drawing operation.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. Wire heat treating apparatus comprising a housing defining a chamber therewithin; a generally cylindrical drum in said housing adapted to have wire wrapped thereabout for travel through said housing upon rotation of said drum; drive means operative to rotate said drum so to advance such wire through said housing; heating means effective to heat the helical loops of wire disposed in said chamber; a push ring keyed to said drum for rotation therewith, and actuating means for said push ring comprising a fixed support rotatably mounting a plurality of rollers, the axes of said rollers being inclined with respect to a plane transverse to the axis of said drum whereby said push ring is rotatably supported on said rollers to continuously helically advance the coils of wire wrapped about said drum.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a Wire quenching unit disposed adjacent (to said housing; said quenching unit comprising a tank having liquid coolant therein; a drum having its lower end immersed in the coolant in said tank and adapted to have the heated wire pulled from said housing wrapped thereabout for quenchting in such coolant, said drum of said quenching unit having a pushdown ring therearound above the liquid coolant in said tank; said pushdown ring being keyed to said drum of said quenching unit for rotation therewith, and actuating means for said pushdown ring comprising a fixed support rotatably mounting a plurality of rollers, the axes of said rollers being inclined with respect to a plane transverse to the axis of said drum whereby said pushdown ring is rotatably supported on said rollers to continuously helically advance the coils of wire wrapped about said drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,243,442 Peirce Oct. 16, 1917 2,040,343 Simons et a1 May 12, 1936 2,309,745 Bergin Feb. 2, 1943 2,359,095 Elder et al Sept. 26, 1944 2,587,742 Lorig Mar. 4, 1952 2,622,182 Forz'ley et a1 Dec. 16, 1952 2,655,368 Keller Oct. 13, 1953 2,701,716 Erhardt Feb. 8, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 544,661 Canada Aug. 6, 1957 811,613 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1959 

1. WIRE HEAT TREATING APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOUSING DEFINING A CHAMBER THEREWITHIN; A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL DRUM IN SAID HOUSING ADAPTED TO HAVE WIRE WRAPPED THEREABOUT FOR TRAVEL THROUGH SAID HOUSING UPON ROTATION OF SAID DRUM; DRIVE MEANS OPERATIVE TO ROTATE SAID DRUM SO TO ADVANCE SUCH WIRE THROUGH SAID HOUSING; HEATING MEANS EFFECTIVE TO HEAT THE HELICAL LOOPS OF WIRE DISPOSED IN SAID CHAMBER; A PUSH RING KEYED TO SAID DRUM FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, AND ACTUATING MEANS FOR SAID PUSH RING COMPRISING A FIXED SUPPORT ROTATABLY MOUNTING A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS, THE AXES OF SAID ROLLERS BEING INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO A PLANE TRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS OF SAID DRUM WHEREBY SAID PUSH RING IS ROTATABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID ROLLERS TO CONTINUOUSLY HELICALLY ADVANCE THE COILS OF WIRE WRAPPED ABOUT SAID DRUM. 